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The AT-TE was the Republic's multi-purpose assault vehicle capable of tasks ranging from the transportation of platoons of clone troopers around a battlefield to full-scale attacks upon enemy installations. The vehicle performed most admirably in support roles that involved providing immediate cover fire for battalions of soldiers. AT-TEs were often deployed in large numbers to overwhelm the enemy through sheer volume of fire.

An AT-TE was impervious to ion damage due to built-in electromagnetic shielding. Its average speed was 60 kph (37.2 mph). This plodding pace allowed it to penetrate energy shields, a feat that was impossible for repulsorlift craft. Effective in numerous terrains and environments, the walker was even capable of scaling vertical cliffs as the later UT-AT transport was.

An AT-TE contained enough fuel to stride at full speed for over 500 kilometers and possessed enough scrubbed air and military rations to last its crew for three weeks out in the harsh conditions of the battlefield.

Seven specially-trained crew members were needed in order for the vehicle to function propely. The pilot worked the six legs of the walker, while a spotter utilized several sensor stations to ascertain the locations of hostile units and primary objectives.[2]

The spotter then had to relay this information to the four gunners nestled at gun stations within the heavily-armored hull of the walker. A final crew member had to sit behind the controls of the rail gun atop the AT-TE, completely exposed to enemy fire. Ten clone trooper passengers could be held in each section of the walker (20 total). In addition, an IM-6 medical droid was located in the back of the AT-TE for emergency medical treatment.

The most noticeable weapon was the enormous rail gun mounted on the top of the craft. This cannon could be loaded with an array of loadouts, depending on the specifications of the mission. The payloads of the gun could range from burrowing bunker busters to heat-seeking missiles to sonic charges. However, it had a slow rate of fire and questionable accuracy.

Six smaller laser cannons were strategically placed along the vehicle. Four were located in a square pattern around the cockpit, while two more were placed in the rear to cover the flanks and help secure dropoff points for the platoons contained within. These troopers were essential to the survival of the AT-TE when the walker came under fire from enemy infantry units that were too small to be accurately targeted by the main cannons.

However, the AT-TE was not invulnerable. A single, well-placed rocket from a Hailfire droid was enough to destroy it,[3] and it was also highly vulnerable to air attacks. One of its design flaws was that it was low to the ground, so the turret gunner's protection of the vulnerable underside was limited. The low ground clearance of this vehicle also made it susceptible to mines exploding beneath the walker. This flaw was eliminated in the newer AT-AT.

The AT-TE was first built as a patrol vehicle for mining companies operating on distant worlds, who were in need of a vehicle that could help maintain order. When war loomed and Rothana Heavy Engineering gained military contracts, they revised the design and modified it for combat duty.

Following the success of the walker at the Battle of Geonosis and other conflicts in the Clone Wars, Rothana created the AT-HE, AT-AT, and AT-AP walkers to supplement the earlier design. They also began tweaking the AT-TE design itself, replacing standard legs with longer ones on some of the walkers, presumably to increase their gunners' line-of-sight and to more easily avoid obstacles.

Additionally, other companies who were inspired by the walker design would go on to create similar-looking vehicles like the UT-AT and the AT-OT.

After the end of the Clone Wars, the newly self-declared EmperorPalpatine favored and authorized the use of newer—and more destructive—war vehicles.

During the Galactic Civil War, surviving AT-TEs were still used by the Empire (most likely being reinstated due to the war). The walkers no longer had a primary status in military campaigns, but were sometimes used for additional fire-support alongside larger assault vehicles, including AT-AT walkers and Juggernaut tanks.

Some were deployed to backwater worlds like Maridun and Jabiim, where they were used only for logistical purposes and not as front-line combat vehicles. Many of those walkers were adapted to fit new mission roles and planetary environments. Some had parts of their rear side-armor removed, enabling embarked troops to shoot at enemies on the sides. This added to the vehicle's lateral defenses, but also increased their vulnerability to grenades and other short-range weaponry.

Some walkers had most of their top armor and offensive armament removed (such as the projectile cannon) so that they could be used to transport large amounts of cargo.

Since the bulk of the New Democratic Republic's army was formed out of the 7th Sky Corp, the AT-TE continued to be the primary walker for the Grand Army of the New Republic. These walkers, although updated with heavier weaponry, could not go one-on-one with an Imperial AT-AT and therefore traveled in squads of three, which provided sufficient firepower to bring down an AT-AT. The AT-TEs of the 7th Armored squadron were specially outfitted with larger 'feet' to handle snow and mud, and their armor plates were made of HEATSHIELD armor plate that masked their heat signature and made them effectively invisible on infrared. Other modifications included replacing the rail gun (which had questionable accuracy) with a deadly thirty millimeter projectile rotary cannon which was designed to take out heavily armored walkers and tanks but worked even better against aircraft, infantry and enemy fortifications. The only downside was an unfortunate tendency to overheat quickly, which was remedied by firing only in bursts. The first AT-TE squadron to receive this upgrade was the 324th Armored Squadron. On very few occasions, a single AT-TE has been able to defeat an opposing AT-AT by staying in the larger walker's blind spot. However, such a tactic necessitates a terrain like a jungle to allow the AT-TE to approach the AT-AT close enough to be able to reach its blind spot, and both incidents of such an engagement were recorded on Felucia. Another tactic that AT-TE drivers have used to combat AT-ATs one-on-one is to position themselves behind a dead AT-TE, fooling the AT-AT, and surprise the larger walker. However, a single AT-AT can destroy or at least disable an AT-TE in a single barrage.